Laser Cataract Surgery

Laser Cataract Surgery

State-of-the-Art, bladeless surgery to restore your vision.

One of the innovations that top cataract surgeon Dr. Adam Fedyk has been incorporating is the use of laser surgery to treat cataracts.

Cataracts, clouding of the natural lens of the eye, are the leading cause of vision loss in adults age 55 and older, and the leading cause of blindness worldwide, according to the National Institutes of Health.

During non-laser cataract surgery, the patient’s natural lens of the eye is removed and replaced with an artificial lens implant using traditional surgical implements and blades. Laser Cataract Surgery allows Dr. Fedyk to perform the cataract surgery without blades of any kind.

A Personal Message from Dr. Fedyk

“I am excited to offer Laser Cataract Surgery to all of our cataract patients. I truly believe this ground-breaking technology is the way of the future and will someday become the standard of care for any cataract patient.”

Dr. Adam Fedyk

Advantages of Laser Cataract Surgery: The New Standard

St. Louis Cataract Surgeon, Dr. Adam Fedyk uses the state-of-the-art Femtosecond laser for laser cataract surgery. The Femtosecond is a small, accurate laser that makes precise incisions while leaving the surrounding healthy tissue unaffected. It is been used for a decade in LASIK surgery, but has just become available for cataract surgery.

According to Dr. Fedyk, “The femtosecond laser is the most innovative advance to come along in cataract surgery in the past 20 years. With the laser we can do very precise, minimally invasive cataract surgery.”

Dr Fedyk and the St. Louis Eye Institute are proud to offer some of the finest laser cataract surgery St. Louis has to offer.

The size, shape and location of each incision are precisely programmed by Dr. Fedyk allowing a more predictable and reproducible procedure.

The femtosecond laser allows for superior astigmatism treatment during the surgery. Small bladeless incisions are made in the cornea to relax and eliminate the astigmatism of the eye. This allows the lens implant to function at full capacity and provides the patient with minimal distortion in their vision.

BOTOX

BOTOX® Cosmetic

When you smile, laugh, frown, or look puzzled, you contract the muscles of your face. Over time, these contractions produce permanent furrows and deep wrinkles in the skin, especially around the eyes and mouth, between the eyebrows, and on the forehead. These lines can make you look older, sad, angry or tired. BOTOX® Cosmetic treatments can not only prevent you from deepening these lines during natural facial movements, they can also erase these marks of aging, leaving you looking younger and more refreshed.

What can BOTOX® treatments do for me?

BOTOX® Cosmetic is the most popular cosmetic procedure in the country. Quick, safe and effective, BOTOX® reduces or eliminates facial lines and wrinkles for up to six months with no downtime and little to no discomfort. Through a series of tiny injections, BOTOX® gives you a rejuvenated look by smoothing crow’s feet beneath the eyes, frown lines between the eyebrows, and horizontal lines across the forehead.

How BOTOX® Cosmetic Works

BOTOX® is the brand name for botulinum toxin A, a therapeutic muscle-relaxing agent derived from the bacteria Clostridium Botulinum. Originally approved by the FDA for the treatment of eye and muscle spasms, BOTOX® was quickly recognized for its cosmetic value.

Physicians have been using BOTOX® Cosmetic for years as a treatment to correct visible signs of stress and aging. The medication relaxes the muscles in the face that cause wrinkles. When injected in small doses in specific areas, BOTOX® injections block nerve muscles responsible for the repetitive actions that cause fine lines and wrinkles. In this way, BOTOX® smoothes the lines in the skin that make you look tired or angry.

The BOTOX® Procedure

Using a very fine needle, Dr. Fedyk will inject BOTOX® Cosmetic into designated muscles in your face that are causing lines and wrinkles. You may experience brief, mild discomfort during the injection, but you can be assured that the treatment is very safe and effective.Taking only a few minutes, BOTOX® treatment requires no anesthetic and recovery is immediate, allowing you to return to work and resume your normal daily activities that same day.

The Importance of Choosing a Qualified Physician

Dr. Fedyk will take the time to talk with each candidate before beginning the injections to find out what he or she wants to achieve and to determine how best to correct their problem area(s), so patients can be happy again with their smoother, younger-looking faces.

BOTOX® Cosmetic Results

Immediately following the BOTOX® treatment, some patients may experience mild bruising, which will go away shortly. You will see your wrinkles begin to fade within 24 hours, with continued improvement over the next 5 days. The effects of BOTOX® Cosmetic typically last up to four months, although many have reported results lasting up to a full year. After several BOTOX® treatments, the results may be prolonged.

BOTOX® Cosmetic treatment will relax the muscles in your face and soften the skin, giving you a more relaxed and youthful appearance.

Glaucoma Lasers

Glaucoma Management

Glaucoma is sometimes controlled with eye drops, given 1 to 3 times a day. These medications reduce the pressure in the eye by either assisting the flow of fluid out of the eye or by decreasing the flow into the eye. Taking the medications will likely be a lifetime routine. In other cases, a laser procedure is able to lower the pressure, sometimes delaying or preventing the need for medications.

Glaucoma Lasers

Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT): By using the newest laser technology in St. Louis, Dr. Fedyk may be able to reduce your eye pressure. Laser surgery for chronic glaucoma is typically painless and usually takes only 5 to 10 minutes to complete. The laser applications are applied through a special microscope similar to the ones used for eye exams. A lens is placed over the eye to direct the light to the filtering meshwork. SLT is able to lower the pressure in the eye about 85% of the time. The results of the SLT tend to decrease over time, but this procedure can be repeated, often with excellent results. Most patients are eventually able to discontinue some of their medications.

Laser Peripheral Iridotomy (LPI): For patients with narrow-angle, or acute glaucoma. A small hole is made in the iris so that the fluid inside the eye can properly circulate and encourage fluid drainage to lower the eye pressure.

Corneal Transplant

Cornea Transplantation

Cornea transplantation can successfully replace these unhealthy corneas with a healthy new one and restore vision. The corneal transplant is an amazing procedure and has restored eyesight to millions. The most common reasons for undergoing a corneal transplant are to improve vision, reduce pain, or to maintain the structural integrity of the eye.

Cornea transplants have been performed for several decades and approximately 40,000 are done in the USA yearly. New understandings and therapies of eye surface disease in tandem with advances in cornea transplantation have allowed for greater cornea transplant success than ever before.

With a conventional corneal transplant, the full thickness of the central 7-8 millimeters of the cornea is completely removed. An entire new donor cornea that has been prepared by an eye bank is carefully sutured in place with fine stitches. These stitches can remain in the eye for over a year.You will not have any pain during the procedure or see the surgery while it is happening. Unlike cataract surgery, where visual recovery is rapid, the healing time after a full thickness corneal transplant can take between 6 months to over one year before the best vision is obtained.

The New Cornea Transplant – DSAEK

An innovative procedure known as DSAEK has been used with great success by Dr. Fedyk. DSAEK is not nearly as invasive as the traditional corneal transplant, and requires considerably less recovery time. Rather than removing your entire cornea, Dr. Fedyk will make a small incision in the side of the eye and replace only the damaged portion at the back inner dome of the cornea with donor cells. DSAEK uses the specialized instrumentation designed for LASIK. The donor cornea is prepared using the LASIK instruments to create only a thin layer of tissue to transplant. This thin layer contains a new healthy layer of cells.

Rather than facing a potential one-year recovery period (a huge drawback for the old corneal transplant method patients), the healing time is mere months for DSAEK patients. Another benefit: the procedure involves little or no stitches. The incision required for the surgery is very small. DSAEK is performed as an outpatient procedure under local anesthesia. The patient can go home after surgery without even having to have an eye patch. Finally, there is also less risk of rejection because the majority of the cornea remains in place.

All-Laser LASIK

All-Laser LASIK: The New Standard in LASIK

Using the most advanced technology to improve your vision.

St. Louis Eye Institute’s Top Laser Eye Surgeon, Dr. Adam Fedyk, has had great success allowing many St. Louisans to break free of their glasses or contact lenses and see clearly unrestricted for the first time.

All-Laser LASIK is a combination of the most advanced FDA-approved technologies: so accurate and so clinically advanced that it has been approved by NASA and the U.S. military for the professions they say are most dependent on accurate vision: astronauts and pilots.

What is All-Laser LASIK and how does it work?

The very best things in life are custom-fit, and that includes vision correction at the St. Louis Eye Institute. One size does not fit all when it comes to your eyes. And just like the tailoring of a fine suit or designer dress, your All-Laser LASIK procedure is 100% tailor-made for you.

With All-Laser LASIK, we combine Wavescan diagnostic eye-mapping and Iris Registration technologies, which allow us to diagnose your eyesight with 25 times the accuracy of earlier methods, with IntraLase bladefree flap creation and CustomVue, perfectly guided, LASIK treatment.

This technology allows unprecedented customization and accuracy, making it possible for the actual laser treatment to be fully customized to the unique characteristics of each of your eyes. This precise level of measurement and treatment can enable you to achieve the full potential of your personal best vision.

Step One: Customized Measurements

We include Wavefront Technology as part of your LASIK treatment. The Wavefront software allows us to correct minor imperfections unique to your vision, offering many patients better than 20/20 vision, so-called ‘super vision.’

Step Two: Laser-Created Flaps

The IntraLase FS laser is a computer-guided, ultra-fast laser that is used to create the thin corneal flap for the All-Laser LASIK procedure.

With the IntraLase femtosecond laser, expert Laser Eye Surgeon Dr. Fedyk can create a corneal flap that is designed precisely to the configuration of your eye, without cutting, ensuring rapid healing after the surgery is complete. In clinical studies, more patients achieved 20/20 vision or better with procedures that incorporate the IntraLase technique.

Step Three: Wavefront-Guided Vision Correction

Using the VISX Star S4 excimer laser, Dr. Fedyk performs your laser eye surgery. His expertise with this advanced laser system allows him to perform your eye surgery in about 3 to 6 minutes.

NASA recently approved the LASIK procedure for its astronauts following review of extensive military clinical data, which showed the use of two lasers (femtosecond & wavefront-guided) provides superior safety and vision as compared to earlier forms of the procedure.

In fact, all branches of the U.S. military have approved LASIK for their servicemen and women, including Naval aviators and Air Force pilots, thanks to a decade of military research and recent advancements in All-Laser LASIK technology.

Book a Consultation

If you are interested in correcting your vision through All-Laser Lasik and to find out if you are a candidate, book a consultation with Dr. Fedyk today!

Premium Lenses

Multi-focal Lenses (ReSTOR/Tecnis)

Seeing near, intermediate and far – with a single lens.

There are many options for replacement lenses, and Dr. Fedyk will help you choose the one that best suits your needs. He is specially qualified to assist you in your premium lens choice. While training at the world-famous Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Dr. Fedyk personally conducted research on the visual outcomes of the first wave of Premium Multi-Focal Lenses. He also participated in a pilot program during his residency, the first of its kind in the country, where doctors gained first-hand experience with Multi-Focal Lens implants during live surgery.

During your cataract surgery, your natural, cloudy lens is removed and replaced with a new, implantable intraocular lens (IOL). A standard IOL implant will restore your vision, but it will be limited to a single focal point, and you will need glasses for your daily activities that require near or middle vision.

Multi-Focal lenses, such as the ReSTOR™ or Technis lenses, are similar to bifocal or trifocal glasses, and can provide a very wide range of vision after your cataract surgery.

How does a Multi-Focal IOL work?

The Multi-Focal lenses offer patients multiple focal points, so that they can see well at more than just a single distance. These lenses provide better near vision than the Accommodating lens, so as Dr. Fedyk’s clinical review studies revealed, more than 95% of patients with these lens implants never or only occasionally use glasses.

The disadvantage of multifocal lenses is that you will have some halos around lights at night. The halos diminish with time, and the vast majority of patients say that the benefit of their new vision far outweighs the mild visual distractions. This is a trade-off decision that will be different for everyone.

If you are diagnosed with cataracts and are experiencing one or more of the following issues, you may be a candidate for a multi-focal lens:

Difficulty reading

Difficulty seeing close object

Difficulty seeing to drive, especially at night

Changing glasses prescriptions

Needing bifocals

Accommodating Lens Implants (Crystalens HD)

Providing a wider range of clear vision without glasses.

During your cataract surgery, your natural, cloudy lens is removed and replaced with a new, implantable intraocular lens (IOL). A standard IOL implant will restore your vision, but it will be limited to a single focal point, and you will need glasses for many daily activities. The FDA approved accommodating lens, Crystalens, uses the natural focusing ability of your eye to restore your vision in a more natural way.

How does the Accommodating IOL work?

As we change our focus from distance to near, the natural human lens moves within the eye. That is why young people can see very fine print without glasses. This ability is lost with age and our range of vision diminishes, particularly at near, thus necessitating reading glasses.

The Crystalens is designed to slightly and imperceptibly move and flex in response to your natural focusing muscles inside the eye, allowing it to change power or accommodate, thus restoring some of this reading vision.

The two-year clinical trial that supported the FDA approval of the Crystalens indicated that 92% of the people enrolled in the study (implanted bilaterally) could see 20/25 or better at distance, 96% could see 20/20 at arm’s length and 73% could see 20/25 at near without glasses or contact lenses.

What is more exciting is that 98% of these people could pass their driver’s test, 100% could see their computer and dashboard, read the prices in the supermarket or put on their makeup, and 98% could read the telephone book or newspaper, all without glasses or contact lenses.

Most patients achieve a large degree of spectacle-independence for distance and intermediate vision and only use glasses for reading.

Toric Lens Implants

Astigmatism correction in an implantable lens.

During your cataract surgery, your natural, cloudy lens is removed and replaced with a new, implantable intraocular lens (IOL). A standard IOL implant will restore your vision, but it doesn’t correct astigmatism, a form of vision distortion that is caused by the shape of your eyeball. If you have astigmatism and you get a standard IOL implant, you will still need glasses for all of your activities.

The new Toric IOL is designed to correct larger amounts of astigmatism in order to provide sharper vision and less reliance on glasses. Neither the accommodating lens nor the multi-focal lenses provides good vision for patients with higher levels of astigmatism.

Toric lenses, however, are not multifocal. If Toric IOLs are implanted in both eyes for distance vision, then reading glasses would need to be used for near vision. Alternatively, one eye can be made better for distance while the other eye is better for near vision (“monovision”), thereby reducing the need for glasses.

Accommodating Toric Lens Implants

Dr. Fedyk is excited to offer the latest advance in intraocular lens design. These cataract lens implants are customized to correct for larger amounts of astigmatism, and at the same time allow for improved uncorrected near vision. The Trulign Toric intraocular lens is the first toric IOL that corrects for astigmatism and, unlike other standard toric lenses, has the additional capacity to deliver improved vision across a natural range of focus.

Schedule a Cataract Surgery Consultation

Find out about all of your cataract treatment options.

You don’t want to decide on a Cataract treatment without learning all of the facts. Your eyes are as unique as your fingerprints, and you’ll want to consult a specialist to help you decide on the best way to preserve your vision.

At St. Louis Eye, Dr. Fedyk will give you a thorough examination and explain all of your options, so that you can make an informed decision about the right solution for you.

Cataract Removal

Laser Cataract Surgery

One of the innovations that top cataract surgeon Dr. Adam Fedyk has been incorporating is the use of laser surgery to treat cataracts.

Cataracts, clouding of the natural lens of the eye, are the leading cause of vision loss in adults age 55 and older, and the leading cause of blindness worldwide, according to the National Institutes of Health. Click to learn more.

Custom Lens Implants

A Lens Implant will complete your vision restoration

There are many options for replacement lenses, and Dr. Fedyk will help you choose the one that best suits your needs. He is specially qualified to assist you in your premium lens choice. While training at the world-famous Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Dr. Fedyk personally conducted research on the visual outcomes of the first wave of Premium Multi-Focal Lenses. He also participated in a pilot program during his residency, the first of its kind in the country, where doctors gained first-hand experience with Multi-Focal Lens implants during live surgery.

Standard Lens Implants

Have a single focal point. They optimize vision for one distance, such as looking at distance objects. These implants offer excellent vision, but usually will require bifocal glasses for most daily activities, such as driving, computer work, reading and near vision tasks. The cost of these lenses is covered by most insurance and Medicare.

Multi-Focal Lenses

Are designed with multiple focal zones so patients can see well close up or at a distance. These lenses are especially popular with patients that are looking for great vision for both distance and reading without the need for glasses or contacts.

Accommodating Lenses

Use the eye’s natural focusing ability. The lens moves and flexes within the eye to allow the eye to focus as needed for clear vision at a distance or intermediately. However, with these types of lenses near vision may not be as clear, so reading glasses may be needed.

Toric Lenses

Are designed to correct larger amounts of astigmatism in order to provide sharper vision for patients with less reliance on glasses. These are the only type of lenses that provide correction for larger degrees of astigmatism.

What to Expect

Cataracts are a normal part of aging, but they don’t have to impede your lifestyle. With the innovations now available in cataract surgery, Dr. Fedyk can restore your ability to see clearly and enjoy your life.

With a comprehensive Cataract Consultation, you will be able to find out about all of your options, and decide for yourself when and if laser cataract surgery is right for you.

Testimonials from our Laser Cataract Surgery Patients

“When people ask about my cataract procedure, I tell them that my experience from the beginning to the end was exceptional.

“I also advise them to look no further if they were to have any vision corrective procedures.

“Dr. Fedyk and his staff are to be commended for their professionalism and service . The St. Louis Eye Institute is clearly (in my eyes) the benchmark in the industry. I would recommend any friend or family member in a heartbeat to Dr. Fedyk for eye care or surgery.”

“P.S. My only complaint is that my golf game has not gotten any better. As a matter of fact, I now clearly see all of my bad shots!”

Barry H.

“After having both eyes done, a whole new world appeared. I now have perfect distance vision without glasses, and am able to read up close without glasses as well!

“I had worn rigid contact lenses for years to help my distance vision, and still had to wear glasses to read up close. My eye surgery has truly turned back the clock.

“As to the surgery and ‘recovery’ – it’s as if it never happened. No pain of any kind. I left the surgery center and was reading street signs on the way home. Now I can read menus and newspapers at the same time!

“My regular eye doctor didn’t do surgery, but upon diagnosing cataracts, she said, ‘Go to Dr. Fedyk and make sure HE does the surgery.’ That was the best advice ever. Dr. Fedyk is a leader in the field and very comforting throughout the experience.

“An easier, more rewarding experience could not be imagined. Thank you Doctor for returning my sight!”